ArtistPage
Japanese Breakfast
Japanese Breakfast is the solo musical project of Korean-American musician, author, and director Michelle Zauner. Born on March 29, 1989, in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Eugene, Oregon, Zauner began her music career as part of several indie rock bands, most notably Little Big League in Philadelphia, before launching Japanese Breakfast in the mid-2010s. Japanese Breakfast gained widespread attention with the release of Zauner's debut solo album *Psychopomp* in 2016, a deeply personal and emotional record influenced by the death of her mother. The album blended lo-fi rock and experimental pop, showcasing Zauner's emotive songwriting and innovative production. In 2017, she followed up with *Soft Sounds from Another Planet*, which further expanded her sound, incorporating elements of shoegaze, dream pop, and spacey synth-driven arrangements. The album established Japanese Breakfast as a critical darling and cemented Zauner’s status as a rising voice in indie music. Her third album, *Jubilee*, released in 2021, marked a shift to more upbeat and lush production, exploring themes of joy and personal growth. The record received widespread acclaim and earned her multiple Grammy nominations, including for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album. Outside of music, Michelle Zauner published her memoir *Crying in H Mart* in 2021, which became a New York Times bestseller. The book, based on her viral 2018 essay in The New Yorker, deals with grief, identity, food, and Zauner’s complex relationship with her mother. It further solidified her as a powerful voice across artistic mediums. Japanese Breakfast continues to push artistic boundaries through music, writing, and film, and Zauner has become a prominent figure in both the indie music scene and broader cultural conversations around identity and creativity.
